Trying Umai Soppressata

dirtsailor2003

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• Aug 8, 2017

• #21

mneeley490 said:

 
Two weeks gone, and they are already very firm and pulling away from the Umai bags. Didn't bother weighing them yet. They still have a long way to go.

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• mneeley490
• Aug 8, 2017

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• mneeley490
• Aug 8, 2017

Got the two capicola in their bags tonight.

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• mneeley490
• Aug 8, 2017

On the fridge side, I bought a used fridge yesterday from someone on OfferUp for $80. It was still cold when I got it; they said they just unplugged it. Put it carefully on its side into my Jeep and drove it home less than a mile, then let it stand overnight. Plugged it in tonight, and it trips my CFI outlet. Tried a different one, and it tripped the breaker. Dang!!!!! I opened the back panel to see if it was a pinched wire or something else easy to fix; nope. Whatever it is, it's deep inside the impenetrable part.

  Now I have 2 non-working fridges to get rid of. 

Click to expand...

Looking Good!

Gut those two fridges and make them into smokers!

 

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mneeley490

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• Aug 13, 2017

• #22

Well, garage fridge #3 was the charm. Now the sopp and capicola have plenty of room to breathe.

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• mneeley490
• Aug 13, 2017

The Umai bag lost its seal on one of the capicola, so I had to use another one to reseal it tonight. There were only 4 in the
"large charcuterie" package, at almost $7 each including shipping, so that can get expensive.

 

Last edited: Aug 13, 2017

mneeley490

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• Aug 21, 2017

• #23

It's been about 3-1/2 weeks for the soppa in the fridge. I took them out to weigh tonight, and they are all at about 36%  weight loss.

At this rate, it should only be about another week or so to get to 40%. Does that % sound about right for those who have done this before?

 

Last edited: Aug 21, 2017

myownidaho

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• Aug 21, 2017

• #24

It will be more than a week, most likely. Moisture loss usually drops by almost 50% a week.

 

mneeley490

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• Aug 21, 2017

• #25

MyOwnIdaho said:

It will be more than a week, most likely. Moisture loss usually drops by almost 50% a week.

Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks!

 

mneeley490

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• Aug 29, 2017

• #26

Ok, one of the links hit the magic 40% weight loss mark, and I sliced it up for some folks to sample. Verdict was: Great! Classic soppressata flavor. Just a bit of tang from the bactoferm, but not enough to make it sour. Very firm texture.

Now I have another thing besides bacon that I won't be buying from the store. So just over 4 weeks from pork butt to charcuterie. That's pretty good, and I'm sold on these Umai bags. (Just wish there were someplace that sold them cheaper.)

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

You can see how much volume it lost here, as the plastic sleeves don't shrink like casings.

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

Nice smell and texture. Absolutely no mold or other nasties.

And a few sliced shots.

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

I took these outside in the fading sunlight, but the color was still better than in my kitchen.

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

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• mneeley490
• Aug 29, 2017

Now I'm just waiting on the capicola. I have high expectations for it.

 

Last edited: Aug 29, 2017

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tropics

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• Aug 30, 2017

• #27

Very Nice I will be slicing mine up for Sundays BBQ Points

Richie

 

daveomak

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• Aug 30, 2017

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Excellent job....   Looks awesome.... 

 

browneyesvictim

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• Aug 30, 2017

• #29

Very cool! Im sure your capicola will be just as good. I am anxious to try this...Did either one of them call for using Bactoferm (T-SPX)? I might have missed it somewhere in the post.

 

mneeley490

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• Aug 30, 2017

• #30

Browneyesvictim said:

 
Very cool! Im sure your capicola will be just as good. I am anxious to try this...Did either one of them call for using Bactoferm (T-SPX)? I might have missed it somewhere in the post.

Click to expand...

Yes, the soppressata did. It is in the first post.

 

mneeley490

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• Sep 16, 2017

• #31

Sliced up one of the capicola the other day, as it was very close to 35% weight loss. I had used some Capicola seasoning from Sausagemaker on the outside. It was okay; seemed to be mostly paprika, which is probably what I would have ended up rubbing it with anyway.

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• mneeley490
• Sep 16, 2017

One thing about the Umai bags, is that the cuts tend to flatten out when laying down. Perhaps if they were hung like the soppressata originally was, that wouldn't happen.

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• mneeley490
• Sep 16, 2017

Here it is ready to go to a party, with some cheese, the soppressata, and some store-bought prosciutto. (Mine isn't ready yet.) I got a compliment that it was better than anything they had bought at an Italian market.

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• Sep 16, 2017

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• Sep 16, 2017

And of course, my taste tester waiting to do her job.

 

mneeley490

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• Oct 13, 2017

• #33

Well, between friends and family, that batch didn't last long. I'm going to start batch #2 tomorrow, grinding about 18+ pounds of pork butt. I got some larger die grinding disks for my Kitchenaid grinder, so I don't think I'll have to dice any this time. Thought I'd try upping the heat just a little this batch, by doubling the red pepper flakes that the recipe calls for.

 

mneeley490

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• Oct 15, 2017

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Some pics of batch #2. Unfortunately, I made one of the classic blunders, as in bringing a knife to a gunfight, or getting involved in a land war in Asia. I thought I had boneless pork butts in the freezer; turned out they were bone-in. So cutting around the bone, while the thing was still frozen (for the grinder) was quite a challenge. Lost a lot of the weight with those bone chunks discarded.

Salt and spice blend. The cure #2 is in there somewhere.

Got twelve+ chubs this time, even with losing the chunks around the bone.

And into the fermenting chamber where the reptile heating pad is once again doing its thing. Temp is 72°, and the humidity right now is 80%. They are starting to bloom nicely, and will be coming out on Tuesday night.

 

mneeley490

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• Oct 19, 2017

• #35